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How can/should I store my old family video files?

I am transferring family video from VHS to my desktop PC using a video capture device. What are the ways these digitized videos can and/or should be stored?

To transfer the data to play directly from DVD's (DVD player to TV) I will have to format them to DVD and that is taking a LOT... too much time IMO. Isn't everything Blue ray now anyway?

Should I just store the video files as data to a hard drive, memory stick, or to a DVD or CD disk as data... to be played on a PC or copied from a PC in the future?

Am I missing something?

Main thing is I want to pass the video on to my children. Technology will forever change so I looking for the path of least resistant and smartest method to store the material. Mind you I am not a Rockefeller and I'm not crazy about storing online.

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Store them any way you want to, it really doesn't matter. The only suggestion I can make is that you create at least two copies of anything you don't want to lose. I keep at least three copies myself (one on the primary hd, one on a second internal hd and one on an external hard drive). Of course, a copy on removable media such as cd's is an excellent idea.

And of course if you create backups of the drive(s) (ie, disk images) you'll have that much more "security".

I have no idea what software you're using to do the tape-to-digital conversion, but it obviously creates a video format playable on the PC. A great many BluRay or DVD players, much like their CD player precursors, can play all sorts of video formats other than what come on a commercial BluRay disc or DVD. You'd have to check what yours can play were the file(s) to be copied to optical media and that media used in the player.

The above being said, digital media are really not all that different than tape, over time, except that if stored and backed up correctly the probability of decay is far more limited. But, over time, it is not only entirely possible, but absolutely likely, that new video formats will emerge that will supplant those currently in use and that backward compatibility to allow those currently in use to be played will not be maintained in perpetuity.

You are going to have to watch out for these changes if the "storage plan" is for decades before the material would be passed to your children and you may have to do digital format to new digital format conversions multiple times along the way.

store them on your PC hard drive, and back them up to an external hard drive also, thats what i do,

i have one folder on my desktop, within that folder are about 200 subfolders with all my pics and videos (about 200 gigs total), so when i want to back them up all i have to do is drag and drop that one folder to my external hard drive

not sure how old your TV is but most TVs these days have USB ports on them and you can play videos directly from a USB stick,

or if you have a laptop with an HDMI output you can connect the laptop to the HDMI port on your TV and play the videos directly from the computer,

CD's are on their way out, i wouldn't even bother with them, they also dont have the capacity of hard drives and USB sticks

I personally don't have much faith on online storage or cloud storage services as you never know how your data can be misused. Moreover, these online services are prone to hacking attempts as we've seen in the past.

I would honestly recommend you to buy an external backup drive (WD or Seagate) and store your personal data on it. Believe me, I have been using it for 4 years now and more than satisfied with peace of mind that my data only belongs to me and no one else has the authority to view it. If you are concerned about the sensitivity of the drive or thinking that it might get corrupted or destroyed due to a fall-shock or anything like that, then I would recommend buying a Military Grade Shock Resistant drive. It'll be much more reliable for you.